Community News

Shanghai Brings International Smiles to Liberty Lake Day Camp

Sponsor: Liberty Lake Day Camp

Author: Andy Pritikin, andy@libertylakedaycamp.com

When Owner/Director Andy Pritikin spoke in Beijing two years ago as keynote speaker of the first ever “China Camp Education Conference” he never imagined that he’d one day be hosting 29 campers from the other side of the planet. “We’ve always had international campers, as people seem to find us on the internet and seek us out. Campers stay at hotels with their family, or at the homes of our camp families, but this summer was a whole lot more.” After accepting 10 campers from Shanghai, 19 additional children who were originally scheduled for a summer enrichment school program, switched over to Liberty Lake after one day. “We had some groups with three or four Chinese campers in them! While all the kids spoke some English, our counselors had to take a crash course in Mandarin and Chinese culture, and EVERYONE in the Camp learned ‘nihao’ – the Mandarin word for hello.”

Known for its extensive special needs inclusion program of over 100 campers each summer, Liberty Lake was primed for the challenge. When all 29 campers came off of the Ocean County bus that first day, it was a scene to behold. Fortunately, Liberty Lake also had two campers from Beijing who had recently moved to Moorestown. James and Ginger Yang served as Liberty Lake ambassadors, helping their new friends pick activities and navigate the complex program that Liberty Lake offers.

“In the end, kids are kids- whether they are from around the corner or a village outside of Shanghai. They want to have fun, they want to make friends, they want to be loved- and Liberty Lake provided it all and more!” Pritikin points out that in today’s modern world, it is likely that our children will be doing business with these Chinese children online, in the clouds, and will have to be able to communicate with them. “Chinese families are keenly aware of this, which is why they are so willing to pay thousands of dollars to send their child to the other side of the world to absorb and learn American style social skills. They realize that Camp is the perfect environment for learning skills that kids don’t generally learn in school- character skills needed to succeed in college, career and life.”

ABOUT LIBERTY LAKE DAY CAMP

Liberty Lake Day Camp, located in Mansfield Township, NJ, is a special place for children ages 4 to 15 to expand their talents, make new friends, and develop the life skills needed to become successful adults in the 21st Century. Every summer, Liberty Lake transforms into an extraordinary world, creating a recreational and educational environment that is unparalleled in our area. EARLY BIRD ENROLLMENT FOR 2019 is going on right now, with roll-back pricing! For more information, visit www.LibertyLakeDayCamp.com